Pictured: A pile of household garbage that was illegally dumped on the property of Peter Schminke was ordered to be removed by the City of Globe. Municipal statutes lay responsibility for cleanup on the landowner. Photos provided.

The road is informally called “Hershey Highway,” Old Miami Road west of the Gila County Historical Museum, but residents there are not seeing anything funny about it, as the City of Globe continues efforts to clean up the area.

Despite regulations against illegal dumping on both public and private property, the onus of clean-up fall on the property owners’ hands — and their wallets — as it is the victims that pay for the crime.

“We’ve seen a vast improvement,” the city’s Code Enforcement Specialist Michelle Yerkovich reported to city council on May 22. “I feel their pain, but it’s code and we have no budget to help.”

City of Globe Code Chapter 10-3 section four, specifically addresses the dumping of refuse, stat-ing that “it is unlawful for any person to place or cause to be placed any refuse upon any public or private property within the City, except as specifically permitted….”

The penalty for such illegal dumping is laid out in section five, which states that failure to comply is a violation with each day that garbage remains being a separate offense. Fines can be up to $480.

But who is really paying the price?

Peter Schminke is one landowner in an area that can be a jurisdictional nightmare for code enforcement, as his property falls into gray areas of city and county spheres of influence.

Schminke is the son of William Schminke, who came to the Globe-Miami area in 1948 and established the now defunct Cobre Valley Motors. The younger Schminke purchased the Old Miami Road property about 20 years ago from BHP, which, according to Yerkovich, owns the road where most of the dumping activity takes place.

But ultimately, regardless of which government or private entity holds influence, it is Schminke who pays to remove unwanted garbage.

Globe city code 10-4, section three addresses landowners’ responsibilities, thusly:

“No person shall throw, deposit, allow or maintain litter, dilapidated structures, abandoned or junk vehicles or any other public nuisance on any occupied or unoccupied private premises within the City, except that the owner or person in control of said private premises may maintain authorized private receptacles for collection in such a manner that litter will be prevented from being carried or deposited by the elements upon any other property within the City.”

In other words, the landowner is responsible for containing the garbage, period.

So now Schminke is in the process of yet another cleanup of his property. Yerkovich said the last time he had to clean up, it cost him $3,000.

“I don’t know how much it’s going to cost this time,” he said. “It hasn’t really been a problem until the last five years or so.”

Schminke said he has been working with both Yerkovich and Gila County District 2 Supervisor Tim Humphrey to find a solution.

Humphrey is well aware of the problem, hence his recent work to establish $1 dump day at the county facilities.

“It’s a big issue that affects our creeks and hillsides,” Humphrey said. “Dollar dump day is a way to give back to constituents who can’t afford [regular dump fees].”

He also hopes to see increased penalties for those caught dumping illegally, although catching them is a rare occurrence, even when there is evidence such as envelopes with mailing addresses and old credit cards found in the mountains of household garbage, mattresses and old refrigerators.

“Law enforcement will argue that just because there is an envelope with someone’s name on it in a pile of garbage, that doesn’t necessarily mean that garbage belongs to the person on the envelope,” Yerkovich said.

Along with the city’s efforts to get landowners to clean up, Humphrey has taken other steps beyond advocating for $1 dump day, by leading cleanup efforts around the county. The supervisor often pays for such efforts out of his own pocket, he said.

“We took dumpsters into Deer Creek Village for the public to put stuff in,” he said. “I can’t waive dump fees, so I paid them myself.”

Humphrey added that a recent 16-month-long effort between Globe and Payson removed 160 tons of garbage from the roadways.

Schminke appreciates the efforts, but would still like to see better enforcement and better solutions so other landowners are not stuck with huge cleanup bills. And due to his schedule, he was not able to make dollar dump day, the second Saturday of each month, so he ended up paying full price to haul away someone else’s garbage anyway.

“They want me to clean up my property, but if I want help, forget that,” he said. “I don’t mean to complain, but what are they going to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again?”

To that end, Yerkovich continues to talk to the illegal dumpers she can identify and is making incremental improvements, given policy and jurisdiction.

“The City of Globe appreciates property owners that make the effort to maintain their property and clean up after illegal dumping,” she concluded on her report to city council.

City policy also offers advice to landowners dealing with the specter of illegal dumping.

Property owners dealing with illegal dumping should not approach the offending party, but call Gi-la County Dispatch with a description of the vehicle and the area where dumping occurs, with a license plate number if possible.

Additionally:

After the fact, call the local municipality or county depending on the location of the dump site;

Fence off the property;

Make the property inaccessible to through traffic with dirt berms or other barriers;

Place a gate at the entrance of the land;

Place no dumping and private property signage; and,

Frequently monitor of the land.

Reduced dump fees take place on the second Saturday of each month. The reduced rate is not valid for commercial haulers or any for-profit company or individual using the landfills, non-Gila Coun-ty residents or hazardous materials not normally accepted by the landfills.

The Russell Gulch Landfill, between Globe and Miami, is located at 5891 E. Hope Ln., Globe. Hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and it is closed on major holidays. For more information, call 928-425-7470.

Old mattresses are just an example of the kinds of garbage that is illegally dumped on both private and public property throughout Gila County.